The present invention relates to a firefighter garment such as a jacket or trousers, and more particularly to such a garment including a liner inspection system which enables a firefighter to inspect the liner at any time to ensure that the waterproof sealing means of the liner is intact.
Modern firefighter garments comprise an outer protective shell having a liner disposed therewithin. The liners include an outer moisture barrier and an inner thermal barrier. Ordinarily, these two barriers are manufactured as separate components which are stitched together completely around the edges thereof so that there is no means for gaining ready access to the space between the two barriers.
The moisture barrier and the thermal barrier of such liners are formed of a plurality of pieces of material cut according to certain patterns so that when the pieces are attached to one another the finished barriers have the proper configuration to fit within the associated garment. These pieces of each barrier are joined together along stitched seams. Early firefighter garments employing such moisture barriers did not employ any sealing means for ensuring a waterproof seal at such seams.
During firefighting operations, the firefighter garment is often subjected to a large amount of water which may impinge upon the garment with considerable force. Therefore, it is important that the garment be waterproof so that substantially no water will penetrate the moisture barrier and reach the thermal barrier. Water will penetrate through the seams of the moisture barriers of the liners of firefighter garments unless waterproof sealing means is provided at the seams.
Accordingly, it is now common practice to provide sealing means on the inwardly facing surface of the moisture barrier in the form of waterproof sealing tapes which overlap the seams and extend throughout the length thereof. This has proven to be an effective way of sealing the seams so that substantially no water penetrates into the space between the moisture barrier and the thermal barrier.
However, with the passage of time, such sealing tapes may be damaged or pull away from certain portions of the seams so that the seams are no longer sealed, thereby allowing water to pass through the seams. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a construction which permits a firefighter to readily visually inspect the sealing tapes to make sure that the tapes provide the desired waterproof seal at the seams of the moisture barrier.